New cholesterol treatment can cut levels by 69% after one dose

The future of heart attack prevention could be a single injection

- 

A single shot of a new drug can lower cholesterol levels by up to 69 per cent, according to the initial results of a clinical trial that has not yet been peer reviewed.

The treatment, called VERVE-102, could transform the future of heart attack prevention by dramatically lowering the amount of LDL cholesterol – the so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol – with just a single injection.

While statins can lower a person’s cholesterol levels by a similar amount, these generally need to be taken daily.

“This is the future,” Prof Riyaz Patel - an academic cardiologist at University College London and a doctor at Barts Health NHS Trust, which took part in the trial - told BBC Science Focus.

“This is reality; it’s not science fiction. We're actually doing it. I've had patients of mine in the trial receive this one-and-done treatment, and it’s going to change the face of cholesterol management going forward.”